Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Samoa Joe's Incredible Career In TNA, AEW & WWE, Brock Lesnar, MJF Shove, "NOPE"

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

https://cvvtix.com - Get your tickets for INSIGHT LIVE in NYC & Las Vegas with VIP Meet & Greet! Samoa Joe (@SamoaJoe) is a professional wrestler currently signed to AEW. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, CA to discuss his careers in ROH, TNA, WWE and now AEW, working with the likes of Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, the origin of the "nope" spot, the Muscle Buster that ended Tyson Kidd's career, shoving MJF in NXT and the full-circle moment that happened in AEW, having to fill for time as WrestleMania 37 was delayed due to rain, playing the role of Sweet Tooth in "Twisted Metal", his various voice acting roles and more! Quote I'm thinking about: "Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching." – C.S. LewisPlease support our sponsors!  PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibclouxSEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV10 Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure! STASH: Go to https://get.stash.com/INSIGHTto see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off your next order at https://magicspoon.com/cvv VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv FABRIC: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at https://meetfabric.com/CVV ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at https://bluechew.com PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.    Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris. Ah, yes, welcome back to another one here on Inside. I'm CVV. Chris Van Vleet, thank you for being with us on this one. And thank you for making Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Hit a sidewalk slam on that follow button on the podcast app that you're listening on right now. So you don't miss out on anything we have coming up. Also, because I looked at the analytics and more than half the people,

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It is free 99 to do that. We are starting off April with such a big one. This is an interview I've wanted to do for a long, long time. Samoa Joe is on the show. that wasn't supposed to rhyme, but I guess it did. What a career he's had. Ring of Otter, TNA, W, W, W, A, W. It's amazing. I remember the first time that I saw him wrestle and I couldn't believe a guy that size was able to do the things that he was doing. And I've made it well known that I'm a big fan of the mid-2000s TNA, especially the X Division. And Joe is a huge

part of that. Great to have him in the studio in L.A. And it's fitting. since he grew up not too far from there. He grew up in Orange County, California. He started his career in Southern California, so kind of all comes together in that area for him. Also, what a great voice he has. Like such a great voice. No surprise that he's doing so much voice acting.

It's amazing. Snap a screenshot. Let us know what you thought of this episode. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and tag us on social media so we can share it out. He's at Samoa Joe. I'm at Chris Van Vleet. And ladies and gentlemen,

the one, the only, Samoa Joe. I can't thank you enough for coming in here. Oh, no worries, man. It's, like I said, we were trying to organize it, and I'm glad we had to finally do it. I got to show you this. This is the first time I met you. Uh-huh.

This is February 2008 in Milton, Ontario. This is a birth-the-hurt show? This is a B-S-E, blood-sweat and ears. That's a birth-the-hurt show, yeah, yeah. You wrestle Christopher Daniels that night. That sounds about right. So 17 years later, we're able to reconnect. Hey, huh?

Yeah. You haven't aged much. It's pretty good. It's pretty good. Yeah, I guess. Oh, thank you. You haven't really either. I have internally, let me say.

I still have this shirt that says shirt. I thought that that was hilarious to have a shirt that would say shirt. But, man, thank you. What a career you've had. Thanks. And I don't know if we'll have enough time to get to everything, but. It's been a bit. Yeah, it's been amazing.

Are you the only Samoan wrestler? are not related to other Samoan wrestlers? I think Toad Leone's out there on an island by himself too. But other than that, I mean, there's a few. But it's just, it became a funny thing because when I came up in the Indies, a lot of someone guys, you know, who were around would kind of claim lineage to the honor. Oh, yeah, I'm Rock's cousin. I'm this and that.

And to me, I was always like, I don't want to be like living off a family name that isn't mine and doing that. So, like, I was always real meticulous about me. I'm like, no, I'm not an honor why, but they're an awesome family and they paved the way. but yeah, I was really kind of adamant, like I was going to make my own name. But I feel like with the Samoans, you're all related to someone. No, no, honestly, if my, like me and Roman,

you used to talk about it. Like, if our auntie sat down within five minutes, the connection. Oh, yeah, yeah, you are your cousins. It's not hard in Somo. It's a small island. How did you determine that Samoa Joe would be your name? I didn't.

It was more of a exercise of necessity. So when I started, you know, the internet wasn't what it was today. I mean, people were selling AOL instant messenger getting bookings and, you know, you printed out your directions. There was no GPS. So getting your name out there was, it was a difficult process. You know, just you couldn't, you know, there was no Twitter. It was message boards. And, you know, those message boards only really spoke to 20 people who were on that website or whatever.

So getting this kind of exposure that many athletes are able to get. today just was not a thing. And most of the time when you got booked, it was word or mouth. You know, somebody would recommend you and those kids great. We're going to bring them in. And that was very much the case with me where a lot of, especially California promoters, they didn't care about your tape. They didn't care about whoever. They cared about the word of Christopher Daniels. They cared about the word of, you know, like a shooter Tony Jones up in AP. You know, at the time, wherever we were the prominent guys, you know, their word kind of got you in. So I started out of Somojo as just a joke gimmick, you know, like, oh,

we'll just call him Samoa Joe, and it's like, you can play this stereotypical character, but you're really a killer and you hate, you know, and the problem was, I started having good matches early and people started enjoying it,

and promoters started asking, oh, I want that Samoa Joe kid on my show. And I wasn't dare going to change my name because I didn't want to lose the booking. You know what I mean? It was like, I don't want to come up and be like, you know, Johnny Thundercock.

And I say, like, no, I want to smoke Joe, what's going on here? What the name? Yeah, but you know what I mean? Like,

it was, yeah, so it was just, It was just a business decision. It really wasn't like I wanted to be Samoa Jor. I sat at home coming up with this character. All this is going to be the guy. It was like, I wanted to stay employed.

But did you have another name in mind that you wanted to be? You know, honestly, by the time I'd gotten into the business and was kind of going full steam, it already had stuck. And it was just like, you know, it's like a locker nickname. I mean, you can try to call yourself whatever you want. You know, people are going to call you, you know, Hooper. or, you know, whatever your name is. You know, it's just that, that's just what they, what I was called.

So it kind of stuck that way. And I think that people don't even, like, realize it's just like, that's where you're from and that's your name. It'd be like me calling myself Canada, Chris. Yeah, no, and we used to joke about it. But then in a weird way, we kind of find out it's just very identifiable and people remember that. And that's another thing, too, just stuck in people's heads.

So it's like, once they heard, you know, Samo and John wants, they're like, oh, they just, they remembered the name. So it was like, should I fight this or should I just got to go with it, you know? But nobody wrestled like you. And I remember specifically seeing you in TNA and being like, I've never seen someone that looks like you that has the body size of you wrestle in the way that you do. When do you feel like you started to become like undeniable? I mean, undeniable in the context of like where I was confident that like I could handle myself anywhere be okay.

Yeah, and also just like comfortable in your own skin. From the get. Well, I grew up in show business. So my family runs a large point in Dan Street. My brother still runs the show to this day. So I've been on stage until I was five. Not my choice. You know, it just was my father didn't believe in daycare.

Kids come to work. And then they work. And that was kind of the remit that was for me. So, you know, the first time I was ever in a ring, it wasn't a foreign experience. It wasn't weird. It wasn't nerve-wracking. I would in, you know, I'd been performing in front of people at that point, you know, for 15 years. And not like, oh, a casual show every few months.

Like, no, five, six shows a week. You know, we did. My dad would do, you know, the famous thing when I was growing up, you know, my father would work at Western Airlines until three. Then he would go to Disneyland, work five shows in a Disneyland come home on the weekends. And then we would do four or five shows on our own on the weekends. So, like, wrestling was kind of a, essentially it was this. I had to work on my father's show.

And when I started pro wrestling, the rule, the deal was I could pro wrestle and leave the show because I didn't like working in the show. Because having your boss is, your dad as a boss is a horrible thing. because it can hit you. And, but I had to make money. That was the rule. Like, you know, you can go do pro wrestling because it's show business. My parents understood the concept.

But the big thing was if you're going to do this and leave the show and not work for us, then you have to make money. And so it was that once again, that's why I stuck with the Samoa Joe. And that's why I was so adamant about that because it's like, if I didn't do that, well, you know, the career was it probably going to be cut short? But was the real passion before wrestling? Was it M.MA and was it doing like jihitsu and judo? and things like that?

I love martial arts, and to this day I still practice and still train. And it was something I enjoyed, and I love studying the art of it and understanding the concepts behind it. And, you know, I just took stuff that I enjoyed and I tried to integrate it into my work. You know, like I thought, you know,

at the time, Lucha Lever was so big. And the aerial high fly, especially in Southern California, with, you know, the border being right down the street, you know, the influence was, was all over here. So it's like I needed something to differentiate myself. So, you know, MMA was kind of coming into its own, especially here in Southern California. And I knew a lot of the guys. So I just started saying myself, well, how about I started taking some of those things and bring them over, you know, to kind of this genre, because I feel in 10 years this will be the

biggest thing in combat sports. And, you know, I was right about that. And I, you know, I hope some of that stuff translate. Do you think if UFC was bigger when you were younger, that might have been the path that you took instead? It was open to me, but probably not. I mean, I'm an entertainer by trade. You know, like, I understand how people, you know, view me as a wrestler and in my style and stuff, but at my heart, you know, I grew up in show business and I'm about entertaining people. And that really was my goal with this was not to be a badass, but to, you know, go out there and make people happy and have a good night at the wrestling show. Ironically, though, you did become a badass for doing this, right? Like, that's the

that's the great thing about your character is even you've been a heel for most of your career but man it is so hard to actually boo you sometimes you know people find the way you know people can go find a way when they really want to um yeah i mean i mean i think the persona is just uh you know a lot of uh you know the kind of the stoic tough guys that i got to grow up around and have experiences with and i mean they greatly influence the character that it is today do you remember hearing that joe's going to kill you chant for the first time Yeah, it was pretty wild. You know, R.H, obviously, you know, had its roots in Philadelphia,

and a lot of the remnants of the ECW fan base really made up the new R.O.H. fan base. And, you know, a lot of the chance and a lot of the things that they thought about wresters, you know, transferred over. So that was definitely one of them. And were you like, wait a second. That's pretty cool. It is. But, you know, it's a lot to live up to because now I've got to go out there and murder people, which is very difficult with a living person.

So, yeah, it's, yeah. You know, you still got to figure out how to make it work and give him what the more. But it's such a show of respect of like, we like Joe, we love the way that he works. And if you're stepping into the ring with him, you better be careful. Yeah. And I think that's kind of the point of a lot of what we do. You know, you want that preamble to the fight. You know, you want people to know that they're a dangerous person here and there's consequences to messing with them.

And, you know, that tension, I think those are all kind of aspects that, build into making a great match. And, you know, a great match is oftentimes made well before anybody steps in the ring. And I think that's part of the process. I had AJ Styles in the show recently, and he was telling me people were legitimately intimidated by you. Yeah, which I never understood because I try to be, you know, pretty chill and cool. But I get guys a lot.

And I remember AJ, the great thing about him is that, you know, everywhere I've been, you're going to see AJ. You're going to see Chris Daniels. You're going to see the same people over and over again because they're getting booked out too. and we used to go to places and, you know, he'd be like, the freaking guys is like intimidated of you or something over here. I'll be like, why?

He's like, I don't know. He thinks you're a killer. You don't kill him or something. I told him you, you're fine. And I'm like, all right, cool. And then we get in the ring, you know, God would be fine. But a lot of times, too, though, it became this weird thing where guys would book me as a, like, a right of passage, you know, and like, they'd come up to him for them.

I'm like, man, I saw you in Kobashi. tonight. That's what I'm feeling is going to be tonight. And I'm like, I mean, I would roll my eyes, but AJ, you'd hear him in the back locker and like, like, just laughing with him. Don't let him tell you different. He was horrible.

And I'd be like, I give the guy my best, but it would be funny because I'd get in there with independent wrestlers and it'd be swinging for the fences on me. And I'd just be like, and then I get upset. And then I end up swinging the fence me back. And then AJ's no help because he's like, you see him killing him out there? Yeah, that's why you don't do it?

I'm like, shut up, AJ. So, yeah, it became a weird thing for a while, but, you know, what can you do? It's a wrestling business. I feel like people think you work this strong style. And I guess you do, but, like, you're not hurting people out there. You're not working stiff. I mean, I'm, I work hard not to injure and hurt. And, you know, a lot of the stuff, you know, I take time to try to make it look as vicious as possible.

But, you know, I try to protect people, but it's hard sometimes. Sometimes people just don't believe it. And that's what AJ said, like, if people were intimidated by you, he'd be like, well, have you ever been in the ring with him? Like, the guy barely touches you. He just makes it look great. Well, he's been, yeah, he's been a big advocate on that. And then inevitably, it'd sift somebody in there really think ages and asshole. What did going to TNA at that point in your career with what TNA was building? What did that mean for you?

Well, to be honest, not a tremendous amount when it started. I had had some less than good interactions with TNA early on. You know, at the time I was R.H champion, I was very, very focused on R.H and building the company. And to their credit, R.H was I was making a tremendous living at the time, such for an independent guy, working with R.H. You know, they always took great care of me, especially when Kerry took over. I mean, he was just, you know, really, if you did good in video sales, you know, he had no problem, you know, cracking a little cash bonus off. you know, secret to the side. Thank you very much for that.

But, yeah, when I got the call for TNA, you know, TNA didn't have any TV. Is this when they were still doing the weekly pay-per-view? No, they had lost the weekly pay-per-views. And people kind of forget about this. It was a transitional period. They lost the weekly pay-per-views. I think Dixie was just about to get involved. She hadn't yet.

And they had called me up. And before they had offered me a gig, they said, hey, can you come out and have a trial match? I said, sure, just send me the ticket. and, you know, whatever they paid in, you know, whatever it is. And then they called me back and said, oh, we don't, we don't fly people out. And so we'll be no pay, which I called back. I said, well, I'm not interested, thanks. And I hung up.

And then they called me back again. They asked, they wanted me to be a bodyguard, I think for Johnny Fairplay. And they wanted to call me Reality Joe. And I said, no. And that was the end of that. And then the third time, they had lost their TV. they were only doing internet-only showcase shows. And I get a call and said, hey, we like to bring in,

we're going to fly in, we're going to pay all this stuff. I was like, hey, it's a good start. Better than before. Yeah, wow, all right, we're really talking here. And we want to give you a look. We're kind of in between TV deals and stuff like that. So I just kind of considered it at booking. I didn't even really think it was going to be a long-term thing.

And went there, had the match. They loved it. call me back and they wanted to hire me full time. And I didn't want to be there full time because they just didn't have a TV deal. And I remember Terry Taylor at the time, who I love now and we have a great relationship, was really pressure me. Sign this deal. Sign this deal.

So I'm not going to sign this deal. I'm working for ROH and I'm not going to be exclusive to you for whatever this is and give up that money. It's crazy. And they couldn't believe that. Well, we're a big company. You had TV. You had TV.

Like, okay, great. it was really a weird process, you know? And then my agent at the time got win that a TV deal was forthcoming. And he just goes, hey, we're just going to wait it out until the TV. And we did. And then when we got TV, I said, I'll take that contract now. And it worked a lot better. And you became one of the cornerstones of TNA.

And I talk about this all the time, but you have the most rewatchable match that I just love. It's unbreakable 2005. It's the three-way match with you and AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. Did you know when you were putting that match together, how magical it would be? No. Not, no. And really, it's because, I mean, I knew what they were capable of. I knew it was going to be a good match because both those guys are incredible.

And I'd work with them for so long and known them both for so long. But I think we were just trying to put together something. Like, you know, three-way dances were a thing. And, you know, there's many great three-way dances in ECW and all this stuff. And I think for us, we were just trying to put together a really, really good solid match. And, you know, I think AJ alluded to it when he was last year. You know, things kind of went haywire in the last 10 minutes.

Might have been my fault. So that match could have been better? I don't know. Like, because a lot of the choices we made in the ad lib were awesome. Like, they just were like, wow, that's cool. We've made that work out. So it's like, I guess, You know, you'd want to say if everything was planned out, it would have been better.

But sometimes, I mean, some of those adlubs in there were, like, were really cool, too. So I don't really know. Nobody would have ever guessed that you guys were making this up as you went along. I think we did because, like, you literally, but that's only because, like, we've worked with each of so much. You can almost see the hesitancy in the body language. But it's like, I don't know, to their credit, we all communicated and got it done. And it ended up being pretty good. I don't know.

I think that's the most perfect TNA match ever. Thanks, man. Yeah, I'm glad people like it. And up until recently, it was the only like five-star rated TNA match. And it's like, yeah, for good reason. It's an incredible match. Yeah. I think people enjoyed it. And I'm glad that, I mean, now I get to see like certain really great athletes were inspired by and stuff. So I mean, that's that's really cool that, you know, we got to like make people think, all right, I can do this and I want to do this. I feel like the whole tagline in TNA about the X Division. Like it's not about weight limits. It's about no limits. There was like, like, specifically because like, hey, look, we've got a million percent. Because like the general fan doesn't have a very long attention span. So like when you're doing a next division and they, you know,

you get these high flyers and you see this big guy coming. You're just like, this isn't fair. This guys, burn these dudes. What's going on? So yeah, they were real big on that tagline. And it was. It was specifically for, actually it was specifically for, I think,

PCO. I think, was it you there for a minute? Maybe briefly. And he had like an X-Max, I believe. And I think he was kind of the original, like, guy that they were thinking about when they became that tagline. But then when I got there, it just, you know, fit kind of nice and perfectly. Well, and it's like you were doing things a cruiser way it could do. But you were, you know, you didn't weigh what a cruise way way.

And that's all just coming up in the Southern California scene. I mean, when you come up here, I mean, you learn Lucha and you learn the American style of pro wrestling because. I mean, that's the work around here. You know, like, it was either Martine at the Anaheim Marketplace on the weekends or, you know, you Port Wiami, Mimi, UIWA shows, whatever it was. So it's like you had to kind of have a working knowledge of both styles to really stay working out here. I mean, at a level to where you can make it living. You must have just been crazy athletic as a kid, though.

Decently. I mean, well, I mean, like, I think a lot of it is just more like, you know, like, just dance. You know what I mean? Like, you know, it was a polly-d dancer for most of my life. We all played football. We all played rugby. So we were involved in some kind of sports, martial arts, you know, from judo and everything else.

So we were always involved in something physically, you know, no matter whether it was me and my brothers. So, yeah, we just, we were a real physical family and kind of just stayed out there in front of people doing it. So I think that was the biggest thing. Other than dance, what were the sports who played growing up? Football, yeah, football, rugby, judo. That's essentially the main ones.

And who were the real pro wrestling influence? for you. I always liked Arne Anderson. I always thought that he just cut a terrifying figure for a guy who was, you know, most people would probably see on the street as a 40-something balden dude with glasses, but that's a perfect description of how Anderson. But then, like, you know, you get, you get Arne in front of a camera. And, you know, he just was incredible.

And just, you know, probably one of the most underrated explosive athletes in pro wrestling. You know, when you look at the Arne Anderson's spine, the speed change, some of the stuff that he did in the ring, you know, really high-level stuff that people don't appreciate because, you know, the four horsemen and they just don't realize what a fantastic technician he was in the ring. Prize picks is the best place to get real money sports action. With over 10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings,

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3-3. When you think about like your promo style, you're alluding to Art Anderson being a great promo guy, your promos are so good. And the way that you speak with such confidence, does that come from this performing background, you know, growing up? Or where does that come from? Oh, my dad, a million percent. My dad, he was the MC for our show, had a very limited grasp of the English language despite being the MC for our show. Yet somehow, some way, just through sheer will of force, he would, you know, use words improperly out of context also. I'd give examples, but, you know, he'll probably strike me down from heaven. But, yeah, so, I mean, you know, and that's kind of what it spawned from was like, you know,

here's my dad, um, out here, you know, in front of thousands of people, being an MC, saying stuff that were in the back, me and my brother's like, oh, God, don't say that dad. What you? But, but, but people loved him. And they just, and I just realized a lot of it's just, it's not necessarily what you say. It's how you say it. And, um, that's kind of been really prevalent through a lot of what I do. And I feel like that's, that's a lot of your promo work. It's, it's maybe not specifically the words you're saying, but like, when you say something on the mic, we believe, believe you. Yeah, and I think it's just there's there's certain amounts of conviction and the things that you do and say that kind of are undeniable. So, you know, I do a lot of behavioral

observation. I try to look at the great speakers of the world and see what makes them magnetic and why people tune into them. And yeah, it's, it's an art, but it's one I'm trying to master me. Like, who are you modeling that after? Who are the great speakers you're talking about. I mean, there's some controversial ones in there that I won't say, but like, you know, presidential, I was watching a Roosevelt speech. Not too. I mean, really, it sounds crazy, but, you know, it's just like sometimes I'll be going

through YouTube and I'll see just public speakers kind of addressing a crowd that's really into them. And, you know, just watching mannerisms, just the cadence, the timing when they choose emphasize what words and how it hits to the audience. I mean, it's, it's a lot of stuff like that. We talked a little bit about the X-Division stuff, and I feel like that was really what started to put TNA on the map in that like mid-2000s.

Kurt Angle coming in, I feel like elevated TNA to a whole other level. And you must have been one of the only people that knew he was coming in because it was a surprise to everybody else. But he comes in and he's face-to-face with you, the head button and everything. Were you like one of just like a handful of people that knew he was coming to TNA? I mean, yeah, I think at the time thinking back, yeah. I think I think I was and it wasn't even really through the company it was like through my agent it was like oh I heard such a such is happening I was like oh cool you know so yeah I would yeah at the time I probably was one of the very few that I mean well because like the first it's you and him like we don't feel like you'd have to know you'd be surprised dude you know you'd be really what do you mean really I mean wrestling companies have no compunction about spring and something like that on you at the very last minute day of show trust me so Yeah, I mean, they said, oh, you know, we're doing the thing.

And then I think the day before they told me, it was kind of officially. But, I mean, it was literally the night before. Because there's a lot of TNA wrestlers that had no idea. Like, the show was over. Yeah, like, wait, what's this vignette? I would say probably the majority of me. Wow. And what do you think your matches with Kurt did for your career?

I think they were great. I think, you know, Kurt's status at the time and who he was in the wrestling industry. I mean, in a lot of ways, I give Kurt, a lot of credit because, you know, it legitimized me in front of in the eyes of a lot of people because you hang with Kurt Engel and, you know, go out there and you get down with him, then, you know, in many fans' eyes. I mean, hey, you're the truth. You know, you're the real deal. So, yeah, I mean, that definitely was the byproduct of working with Kurt. Well, and I think that they were some of the best matches of his career and also some of the best matches of your career

as well. Yeah, very fun. I mean, Kurt's a super athlete. You know, I think people kind of fail to realize that, no matter how broken down or beat up he was. He was still just incredible in the ring. I mean, once he walked through that curtain, it seemed like he became invincible and everything worked, no matter how bad he was hurt beforehand. And, I mean, it shows him his work. What's like the, do you have like a court tenant about wrestling

that you think about when you go into a match? Like, is there a thing that you like to come back to of like, I need to do this in order for it to be a great match? I just want people to care. You know, I want them to care about the outcome. I want them to have an emotional investment in the, in what is happening in the ring. And I think that's just really the biggest thing for me is if I can captivate that attention,

you know, they'll come along for the story to have a good time. So where does that start? If you want people to care, what does it start? Oh, it starts well before the match. It starts in the lead-up, the promos, the work going into it, how you react to each other in the ring and perceive you. other in the ring and I'm real big on the small things you know I don't I'm not a huge fan of cutting promos with my opponents in a ring face to face and no action

happening because I think at a certain point in life if two people are arguing and throwing insults back and forth in hands aren't thrown you both look pretty terrible in that you know and that reminds me of the promo that you cut with Brock Lesnar and it's like like that was intense and I don't think anyone had ever spoken to Brock Lesnar like that before. Yeah. Yeah, Brock was surprised too. He didn't know? No, no.

I mean, well, a lot of that too, and I'm not sure. There's a lot of promos I have with Brock, but, you know, Brock really liked the kind of the chaotic energy about the things. He loved that, you know, I would say whatever I wanted to say to him in his face. And, you know, because he understood what I'm trying to do. You know, he understood, yeah, you know, I want to, you know, you want to flip off Brock Lesnar to his face and have people go, who, who, what are you doing, dude? You know, like that uneasiness, that, that, you know, kind of tension in the air. And I think that that also just an important part of kind of bringing interest and care into a match is building that tension, just knowing that when the damn finally breaks, it all hell is going to break loose.

The one I'm specifically thinking about is you're, you look at me when I'm talking to you. Oh. Yeah. I may have, in the grand creative scheme of things, may it went a little overboard there. No, but it's a great moment. No, it is. It was fine.

But I just remember when I walked back through the curtain, you know, Hunter's like, awesome. Everybody's stoked. And I remember I just looked over at Vince, and he's just like, good job. It just kind of looked at him and I was like, all right. Because I think you wanted a different look to health. everybody was in the ring.

But sometimes when I'm out there, I'm on the mic, and you get me jazzed up and I'm on my shit, yeah, I just, I'll flow with the character and then it gets wild. But look, it's no secret that Vince loved WWE guys, like homegrown WWE talent. So when you're coming in from somewhere else, and you really kind of broke the mold, you were really the first TNA guy to come in. Yeah. First big TNA name to come to WWE. Yeah.

Do you feel like maybe you had to, like, prove yourself in WWE? No, no. No, they were respectful of me. You know, listen, I think Vince understood, you know, who I was and what I brought to the show. If anything, though, and I understand this, you know, like, you want your own creations to do the best. You know, you want your own things that you've invested time and money and effort into to kind of go to the forefront. I've never faulted anybody for that. But at the same time, you know, I've always resigned myself. I'm never going to be. less so somebody else could be more. You know, I'm going to be the most of me I can be. And if you compete with me and you're up there with me, you're going to look great. You know, like, if you stay up here at this watermark with me, you're going to look fantastic. But if you don't, I'm not going to slow my game up just to make the segment work, in other words. You were the first person from TNA.

Like, it was before AJ. It was before Bobby Roo. Yeah. It was before Eric Young. What allowed you to be able to go to WWE at that time? Because I don't. because I don't care about the circumstances that get me anywhere. And this goes back to when I started.

You know, when I went to ROH, they did not want me. You know, and I love Gabe. We're awesome. But I remember the first words that I gave Spolski's mouth when I showed up at ROH were, hey, listen, we can't afford another flight from California, so this is just going to be a one-time thing. Wow. And literally I said, hey, nice to meet you, I'm Samojo,

and that was the first thing out of his mouth. First thing, Gabe Sepulsi, that piece of shit. No, no, he's a great dude. I love you, Gabe. Because obviously, great relationship and went on there. I do the match with Low Key, and he comes to the back, he goes, you're on every show. You said, why, flights from California gotten cheaper? What's that all happening?

Group on, what's going on? And then even in TNA, you know, when I got there, like I said, they had no TV and stuff like this. And I remember Scott DeMore, that piece of shit. No, Scott DeMore a great dude. Scott DeMore comes up to me and goes, hey, man. man, it's good, it's good you're here, you know, we're doing internet shows. You're an internet guy, so we figured it'd be good to have you here. I was like, I'm like, internet guy.

Okay, all right, dude, go out there, have the match. Oh, you're awesome, blah, blah, blah, blah. We're going to be undefeated streak, make X-Ovian champion. And then, WWE, it was very much the same thing. You know, like, we were closed off from WWE. If you were a TNA guy, TNA guys don't show up here. In WWE, we create our own superstars. We don't bring in people anymore.

I'm not dealing with these prima don't know what. wresters who worked other places. That was very much the vibe in WWE. And honestly, if it was a perfect timing of things where it's like Hunter was given the remit with NXT, he wanted to build it into a third brand. He wanted to make it bigger than what they were, the remit that they had for, you know, was just like, oh, it's just a developmental thing. It's OVW.

It's what it's always been. And Hunter wanted to make it. No, I can make this into a third brand. But he also knew he needed some firepower. You know what I mean? It's hard to, we got all these new things. talent that you're developing. Some of those guys don't have that hook.

And I think I think the first person I call was Paul Hammond. And, you know, just, hey, is this even worth pursuing whatever? And Paul was like, stop everything. Say no more. I'll call you back and whatever. I was like, cool. And of course, I think he called Triple H and, um, and a few other people. And then William Regal jumped on board right away too and was telling Hunter, no, you got to bring him in.

And I went in and I had a meeting with Hunter. and great meeting. You know, we worked out a non-exclusive, you know, kind of coming in, working with guys here and there type of deal. And then we did the debut. I think I sold out on WW shop and all these shirts and stuff. And the next morning he goes, we're just going to sign you full time. You know, we made too much money last night. Awesome.

What was going on in TNA at that time? Because I feel like that was the exodus of a lot of big people at that time. Well, I left. So my contract was up. I think at the end of a European tour. And at the time, it was tough. AJ had gone. I totally disagreed with that.

I was livid about it because it was just, it was the situation was horseshit. How they treated him was disgusting, especially for, and they offered him a huge pay cut. Well, and like, it was disgusting because he was the hardest working guy

and he was the guy that was like married to me on the, you know, when we did house shows, a lot of these other guys here, they didn't do house shows. No, it was me and AJ at the top. I mean, that's why we worked so much together, and I know I'm like the back of my hand

because every single house show of the main event was AJ style of Samojo for TNA for five years. And, you know, that sat wrong with me. And then I remember we were over in the UK. And we were trying to book a title. I think low key was X Division champion, but the night before he had gotten smacked in the head,

he accidentally with a lead pipe, with a pipe by Drew McIntyre was bleeding very badly and had like a head injury. And I was concerned for him because I was like, it's not good, you know, and he was still exhibition champion. So they were trying to figure out a way to get the belt off him the next night. And all the parties involved, it was involving Austin areas and Spud and all these guys, everybody's arguing how it should go down and this and that.

And I don't want to get into it because I don't want to really hurt anybody because some people do look real bad in this story. But essentially there was no, we're about to go to the curtain. and there was no set game plan about how this title change is going to go down. And it was something where I was replaced. I think I was replacing Key and wrestling for him or something like that. And it was all convoluted, very, very, and nobody was really trying to get the situation solved. They looked around, creative guys are all over the place.

And I end up at the curtain just kind of booking the whole segment and not telling anybody just going, this is how we're going to do it because, hey, I was trying to keep certain people safe, especially low-key who was, you know, concussed, had a big gash and bleeding all the place, and I didn't want him to take any bumps or get hurt and get everybody organized. We do the thing. I walk in the back. And I have just booked a title change in a company, and nobody cares. Nobody's like, oh, everybody was like, oh, that was good.

And nobody was like, oh, that's not what we talked about. What was that? Everybody was just like, okay, cool. And I was like, this is what we care now. And then I remember afterwards, I talked to Dixie at a, after a party and I said, hey, I think I'm done. She goes, oh, with wrestling, I go, no. I think I'm done here because my contract was expiring.

And we tried to have a meeting at the time with John Gaborik. He had been drinking a little bit, and he popped off. And I was about to, like, escalate, and I just went, I'm done. Thank you guys. And I remember I flew home and I was the last that I ever saw a TNA. Wow. But when people think of TNA, you're one of the people that, like, immediately comes to mind. I hope so.

But at the same time, like, you know, they've had a great history. since me and you know a lot of those guys I hope get the credit they're due too you know what's your t-n-a amount what's your T&A mount Rushmore look like uh I think uh J Kurt uh I put Abyss on there you know a lot of people don't realize like the amount of physical punishment and and and hurt and pain and an effort that Abyss put into a lot of the matches to make them happen I think is kind of an he's one of those underrated guys in the TNA lore you know really really is Um, you know, and Jeff, I mean, he, he, he started the whole deal and got it all rolling and was a big, integral part of it for a long time. So, I mean, those are the guys that I have up there. Very modest of you to not put your own name on there. Come on. Uh, I feel like it's AJ and Joe and then you can figure out the other two after that. Maybe, I, maybe for some, I don't know. Like, I just, uh, no, that's for everybody. I think about people I'm fans of. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not a fan of yourself. No, I'm not at all, really.

No, I feel like the work you did there was amazing, which I feel like cemented you as like the guy. So then you can go to WWE and to AEW and be who you are. Part of it. But like I said, it still took some convincing. So it wasn't as clean cut as that. We saw the full circle moment with MJF with the push. But do you remember meeting him that original time in NXT? I do. I do. I remember just the whole segment coming together. And what had really happened is we had done a couple runs of the common entering the arena shot. And I kept on board of this shot, man, because, like, it's just so walking to the deal. And then as a joke, I said, you know, and I didn't tell MJF the time because I was kind of just doing it as a gag.

I go, hey, man, when I'm coming down there, I just really clearing out the hallway from me. He's like, yeah, sure, bro, no problem. And he started out of the house. He got the end of it. And, you know, we cut whatever. I remember I looked up and everybody was dying by in the camera. And I looked at it. And he was like,

he was like giggling to. And he goes, I think it ended up going to the truck. Hunter was in the truck kind of doing pre-production for the show. And he just goes, oh, God, we're keeping that. And you had no idea that MJF would become what he became? No, none. Well, I knew he,

I knew, like, all the guys there at the time were, I think they were Brian Myers guys that sent him from his school. Yeah. I'm pretty sure. I don't know. Yeah, create a pro. Yeah, create a pro. That's right.

That's it. And, you know, I knew he had good dudes that were like, so it was like, I remember asking, you, y'all Brian's guys, yeah, okay, cool. So I remember when I was doing the bit, like, the kid would get it. You know what I mean? Like, the guy would get it because, you know, you just, and he did. It was a hilarious thing. I'm glad we got to revisit it.

Yeah. And then how many years later is that where it's full circle? I don't know. 10, 8, 9, so for him to go from being an extra to being world champion. There you go. Amazing.

Yeah. It also, I've got to figure you. This, it created, the match with MJF created probably the funniest picture in wrestling history. Well, you know, anytime I get a chance to flip off New Yorkers,

I'm very happy, man. It's not just you're flipping them off. It's the look on your face, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know, if you're how to flip people off, you know, a moat with the body, not just with the fingers. It's amazing. Like, what a, what a photo.

Like, it's the absolute, like, perfect timing on that one. What's the thing that you've been most proud of in your career? That's a tough question. I don't know. And there's been a lot of stuff that I think it has been really cool and I'm proud of. I mean, I think the ex-tive. vision stuff is cool because it was just it was a chance

for us it was like you know when you're kind of handed the spotlight and you get to you know really show the world what you can do always a really special time but then like I also enjoyed my time in NXT which was like this really surreal experience of like coming back into a company working with very young young talent that are just kind of starting out on their journey

and kind of like watching them and being a part of them kind of become who they are I mean that was a blast you know I mean it really was it was like it was weird. I felt like Rodney Dangerfield and back to school, you know,

it's like I'm going back there and I'm partying like him. So, I mean, it was like, it was a really weird time. But I mean, I think those two time periods are kind of what I'm most brought it. What made AEW the right move

when you signed there three years ago? Um, I think the biggest thing was at the time I had left W, well, been fired from WWE. Um, I had,

for the second time, For the second time. Ooh. Whatever. Won't be the last time. No, no, no, no. And, sorry, one more time again.

What made AW the right? I think the biggest thing was, you know, at first when I left WWE, I just signed my deal with a twisted metal. And there was initially a little bit of interest again from WWE and maybe redoing it.

But at that point, I had started talking with AEW and speaking with Tony and understanding kind of what he was looking to do at the time and really being able to work out with my filming schedule. It just was a really nice fit. 25 years into the biz now, do you think about how much longer you want to do this for? Yeah, I do a lot.

It's probably coming sooner than later, which is fine. I think a lot of people from my generation, from what I've seen, if they have the ability, you know, we've done our best to kind of save up, and we definitely don't want to out. We're welcome because, you know, we may have been privy to a few people who may have done that in their careers. So I definitely don't want to be that guy in mind. Like, do you have an age in mind? Do you want to wrestle until, like, 50s, what, five years away? No, I think it's just really based on when my contract runs out.

But then you could have other options, you know, it's resign. It's, you know. Yeah. You know, and I think exploring those options that go, I hate the, just saying retirement, because how many per russing retirements never stick, all of them. So, yeah, I mean, I mean, I will do this for a little longer. And then, yeah, I think the end is probably sooner than any new deal being signed. What did becoming AEW champion mean to you at this stage of your career?

It was fantastic, man. I think being able to help kind of AEW along, especially at the time period and be a champion for them and leading into Swarves championship, it was kind of a key time. I think in the company's short history. And I think, you know, it just meant a lot. It meant a lot to be able to go out there and, you know, represent the brand. as the world champion. How did you create the muscle buster? I didn't.

Sold it. No, I was in the 0-1 dojo when I started my career in Japan, and I remember I was kind of like flipping through. You know, they have all these baseball magazine and all these, you know, reading material. I had a bunch of mango on the table because a lot of the guys enjoyed reading it. I remember I was flipping through Kareko Man,

and he was doing the muscle buster. I was like, oh, I remember I'd seen it a few times in Mexico. and I was like, oh, that's pretty cool. I might start using that. And then I think at the time, the guy, the promoter, Yoshuki Nakamura was with me. He goes, ah, no, good move. And they gave it until Sylvester Turquay to use.

And I was like, ah, but then when Sylvester left, and I got back on the Indies in the States, and he wasn't doing that. I was like, oh, I'm going to start using it. So that's pretty much how it happened. Did you think you'd ever be doing it again after what happened with Tyson Kidd? No. And to this day, that probably remains the,

largest regret in my career. You know, just that that happened. There's nothing we could have done about it. Yeah, but, I mean, that doesn't change things for Tyson. It doesn't change things, you know, for a guy who is probably one of the most passionate people in the world of professional wrestling for a guy who has an amazing mind for it. You know, and like really, W.W.E is fortunate to have him in their employ because he just, I mean, even though he's not in a physical role within the company,

the finish is his ability to put together matches and be a producer and agent on parallel. When you hit it on him, did you think anything was wrong? No. No, not at all. No. Didn't feel any different. Didn't, you know, whatever. It's just when I turned around and went for the pan and got back up.

The only thing that even hinted that there's something wrong is when Cizaro looked back up at me. And I know when Cizaro was a concern. And then I was like, oh, my God, I hope everything's okay. And then we got in the back. He went to hospital. and everything got checked out. But, I mean, the whole circumstances regarding that and everything, it just, like, it makes me sick to this day that, that, that guy is not out there being the Tyson kid that I know that he is.

It seems like he's, like, it's the thing that happened. He's like, forgiving you. He's an amazing human being, you know what I mean? Yeah, he's the best. No, no, just, I guess the kids call it base these days, but, you know. He's a little man. No, but no, he is. He just, he's this guy that just,

he has a greater understanding of a larger picture. And, um, yeah, once again, like when you talk about guys who are really great finish men, guys can produce, I mean, he's going to be heralded as one of those dudes here.

I mean, if he isn't already now, you know. Were you concerned when you did use the move again? We've used it a few times since, right? Yeah. Um, I,

well, I didn't want to. And, you know, It was kind of like when I got back into going things in the NXT. And in NXT, I used it. When I got to the main roster, I didn't. But it was mainly, you know, I tried to avoid doing it a bunch or making it a thing.

But it was just because, you know, I didn't want, if he's having a bad day, he looks over and he sees that, he's like, you know, like, I don't want to, I didn't want to replay the car crash in front of somebody, you know. And so I did my best to distance myself from it as much as possible. possible. But that's why. You know, it's just because this guy's my co-workers, guy I respect and I care about. And, you know, I'm not trying to make him have a shitty day over it. When you can use the submission finish instead. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. Soccer Podcast.

My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Klinemberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Time's ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really take their and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Hencoe. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You brought up twisted metal. It's been so fun seeing you do that stuff as Sweet Tooth. Walk me through what it's like when you're on set, because you're being voiced

by Will Arnette later. So are you actually saying the lines when you're on set? I am. Like, I do the whole part. But it's a couple reasons. A, like, I want to give the other actors the best opportunity to give their best performance. And I think if I would stand in there like a mindless show and going, line, line, line, line, line, line, you know, it doesn't set them up for success.

And B, you know, for a first acting gig, you couldn't ask for better trial run type of thing because, you know, I can go out there and, you know, at the end of the day, no matter how good or how bad, it's going to get all cleaned up in post. So, Yeah, I mean, for me, for me, it's a lot of fun.

I'd rather be acting the whole part than not, because it's just, you know, why would you not take advantage of an experience to act with Anthony Mackey and Stephanie Beatrice? And why wouldn't you take a shot at, you know, trying to actually do the craft instead of just doing the bare minimum? And everybody else works so hard on that show, it looked bad on me if I didn't make that effort. How did you get that role? That was weird. I think I was just fired from WW a second time.

And I remember I was like sitting there and I told my wife, I'm like, oh, fired me again. And she was like, wow, okay. And so, and I literally was like, all right, well, cool. And I was like trying to figure out, we'll do a vacation for a month or something. I was trying to figure something out like that. And I get a call from Carter Swan, a guy that I had known years ago here in town. And Hollywood, that is. You don't know around.

Hollywood, baby. Hollywood, baby. And he, and he kind of hit me up. He goes, hey, I'm working on a new project. I'm here with Sony pictures. You remember Twisted Man? I said, of course. And I own a PlayStation who doesn't?

He's like, he goes, remember the clown? He goes, sweet tooth. He goes, yeah, he goes, all right, cool. I'll send you over a reek, you self-tape and send us back over the arena. I said, sure. And the problem was, I was outside all day and I was mowing. And I just wouldn't paying attention. And, dude, I was bright.

I mean, very red, dude. It was gross. I mean, like, I couldn't have been more sunburn walking in. I remember I'm walking in my wife. Like, my God, what happened? I'm like, what you talking about? Oh, shit, I'm sunburned. And she goes, well, what's up?

I go, all right, listen, you got to tape me. And I did the whole audition, like, completely sunburned. Like, I mean, red is, I mean, if they sell the tape, it's ridiculous. And they called me back, I think, within a couple hours. I said, you got the part. What was the audition? Like, if you're not speaking, is it just you being physical? No, no, no, it's me.

doing the actual whole part, yeah. So there's never been a time where, like, you do not do the part. Like, it's just, it's impossible to do it unless you're actually acting all the part. Sure. Did they have the original plan, though, that that character would be dubbed?

Yeah, they did. Okay. Well, because by this time, they had already announced the show. They attached Will and Anthony to it. And, you know, once you attach guys to it, you know, the networks look down upon it if you pull them out the last second.

But what a perfect fit when you're spending your entire career telling stories with your body. And now that's what you're, were able to do with Sweet Tooth. Well, which was hilarious, because I think after the first week of filming, producers came with me after. He's like, man, you're really doing well with this part.

Yeah, and then. You're like, well, do you know what I do for a living? Well, I told him, he goes, that's really funny. Well, you know, I'm a VO artist. And they were just like, what? I go, yeah, I just got done doing like five games. And they're like, oh, well, okay. And really, to their credit, I mean,

most producers told, oh, it's a pro, thing I were going to bring in, so they don't really expect much. But, yeah, they're pleasantly surprised, and it's been a great process. What are some games that people can hear your voice in, that they might be surprised to know that that's your voice? Let's see. I currently, so the Game of Thrones video game, I played a gladiator from Marine called The Beast.

Currently, for Valve software, for, it's kind of a Mova hybrid first-person shooter called Deadlock. I play the character named Abrams, obviously Raymond Law and Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and a few new ones coming up here soon. I can't say anything about it. Is it this voice, or are you doing variations?

Variations. Can you give us a little? There's a monster voice, you know, which is very, it's very got a role and stuff like that. The Raymond Law voices very dastardly. That's good. Yeah, it's very like Old West cowboy. I spit too much tobacco.

This is great, though, that you're planting seeds for a life after wrestling. Yeah, and it's just, I enjoy the work. It's fun. It's fun. I love video games, so getting an opportunity to kind of, like, bring them to life is really, really cool for me. So I'm enjoying it. Was that always the plan to do voice work or acting work, or did it just kind of fall into your lap? No, I fell into my lap.

No ambition or need. I think the voice acting works actually started out. I did the TNA video game and did voiceover work for that. And at the time, the midway VO guy was like, man, you're really good. You should do this. And I was like, how cool. And then lo and behold, I think he worked over on the Game of Thrones game, invited me to do that. And then by then, like, kind of word and mouth producers were getting kind of hints of what I could do.

And then the work started rolling it. But it's not just voiceover auditions. I'm sure you're having actual auditions too, right? Here and there. Like, have you auditioned for something big and been real close to getting it? Not quite. I've gotten most things I've auditioned for. That's great. But I have an audition for a ton of things. So, I mean, I'm definitely not out there doing the volume that a lot of hardworking actors are. Yeah, there's a lot of people that are like, it's 10 auditions a week. I just don't have the time. Which is great. We've got a lot of things going on in AEW. How did the, speaking of that, how did you and Hook get paired together? I think after we had the match initially, you know, kind of, discussed it a bit more and this and that. And at the time coming out of the championship program,

um, I like hook, you know, and I like Shabbat a lot. I thought there were just two talents that I just wanted to see kind of on TV more and focused on. So, um,

and I knew that, uh, I would have to go away pretty soon, uh, with, uh, with twisted metal filming. So it was like,

you know, going back into the championship program probably wasn't a, uh, uh, priority just because of timing and stuff. So, um, you know,

I, I just wanted to focus on trying to really, really, help elevate both of them and bring them to the forefront. The nope might be the funniest thing in wrestling. Yeah, people are really enjoying it. When you did it for the first time, did you think it would be a thing? Well, it started out as a gag, and it was a house show gag where I'd work Christopher

Daniels and at some point, you know, I would call like, you know, a crossbody or something and I'd walk away from it. And Chris, to his credit, like, every time I did it, you know, as he's diving to the air, He's like, you son of a bitch, you a dirty bastard. Like you always like, curse a little phrase that me as he fell to his doom. So it kind of started out as that. And then I remember I did it to him. And then he, then him and AJ began like requesting it on people.

Like, oh, you got to get him with the walkway to do. Come on, dude. He's like, I'll be hilarious. You got to get it with it. So then, and then, I don't know, it became kind of a bit when a started showing up on TV. Well, now it's like part of your. move set it is it is yeah yeah i i remember the first one i hit on in tna uh i was working jerell clark and i remember darrell um he's like you know what you want to do the turn around so you

know maybe go for cross but i'll move and i'll take over some work something out he was all right cool and uh right before the match i remember he ran up to me he's like man he's going like just move and that's just that's it yeah man it'll work out he goes man let me do a moonsault instead so all yeah cool cool cool bro All right. You're doing the match as a Moonside. I walk away from a crowd pops.

Comes up near the back, he goes, I knew that Moonsol was going to do it. So yeah, man. And then he went home, watched the match, came back to the next week, walked straight up to me at ass,

catering. He just goes, you're an asshole, man. He was just like, there, you I am, you're right. What's been like,

what's been your favorite reaction to that one? The Chris yelling, as he's falling, is probably my favorite. Like, it became a thing where I would just do it,

just to hear his comment as he was, he was out of a bitch. You know how old I am? My wife fucking hate you. He was really good with that. I feel like your commentary in WWE was very underrated. Oh, thanks. No, yeah.

I had a blast. You know, it's like you're giving a remit to, you know, help get all your best friends over as much as possible. And it's like a lot of the silly shit I would say in the back just kind of would manifest on the mic. And yeah. What was the reason for you moving to commentary?

that point in time? They still wanted me involved in the company. They still wanted me to be a vocal presence on the show. But I was taking my time with the concussion. I wasn't just going to come back until I had taken sufficient time and got the brain rest. I had two concussions very, very close together. All the research I was coming out, I'm just not going to gamble with that. You know, just after seeing the massive effects it had on so many people in this industry.

And across sports period, you know, my brain is not something I'm willing to bargain with. I think that's pretty fair. Yeah. Would you return to commentary in AEW? Yeah, if, yeah, I do commentary anywhere, you know, really. And, yeah, I mean, AEDW especially. I mean, I think we have a lot of commentators now, but, yeah, if a spot opened up on the rush,

I mean, I had no conjunction about going back to commentary. How chaotic was it backstage at WrestleMania 37 with the rain and everything going on there and not knowing if the show could start. Oh, incredibly. I mean, you know, we were laughing the whole time, but the biggest thing, which people don't know, which was really the terrifying thing that was scary as all, was right above the ring, especially where me and Michael Cole were standing. There was plastic over the thing.

And there was a big, huge bubble, water bubble, like, coming through the plet, like right over commentary table. right over the first three rows. I mean, a massive, like, you could see this big water balloon kind of filling up at the top of the thing. And it's like the whole time we're doing it there. And like, you know, we had the raincoats on the shit. Like, it wasn't the rain. It was like, if that thing went off, like, we were going to get waterfall.

Like, it wasn't even funny. So it was like, all right. Well, here we are. I'm ready. Something like that. It was just a lot of like, you kind of song for time and a lot of like not there being dead air and just kind of filling it with whatever. And so we can get the show started. So, yeah, it was, it was an adventure.

Did they just like hand you guys? guys ponchos and went like go out fill time well yeah because we didn't well a we don't want to get electrocuted you know like because we're literally sitting on tons of electrical wiring with microphones in our hands yeah and there's a lightning storm and there's a lightning storm so it's like we're all just kind of more like you know hopefully we're not getting struck or get a 20 million gallons of water port on us and yeah I mean that that's really it so it's funny like uh people think oh it's just the rain and stuff like that but really like I really wish they would have just panned up and just saw this big do-drop plastic bubble of water just ominously hanging

like that's the thing we're scared of yeah yeah yeah and i i remember being in the stadium sitting next to all the cardboard cutouts of course and being like are is this going to start yeah like are we getting this happening yeah are we i think we had to evak and push people back into that's right we were in the like tunnels the tunnels yeah and once that's done you got to bring people back out in the field so yeah then there's all kinds of lightning protocols you have to follow so yeah but it was just like is this going to happen We were wondering too. What's the underrated match from your career or underrated feud that you wish more people would be talking about or paying attention to?

God, if it's underrated, then it didn't work. It really matter. That's the way I look at it, dude. Really? Yeah, if it's under, like, I don't know. I don't do this for my personal gratification. I'll do this for, oh, this is my art piece. It's how wonderful it is.

I mean, if you enjoyed it, you liked it, it was a success. If it was underrated, then I failed somewhere along the line. You know, I really didn't push it to the forefront. I should have done more. So I don't, yeah, if it's underrated, I don't, I just write it off. It didn't work. You should have done something different. Really?

Yeah. I feel like there's fans that'll go, man, the work with this person or this person, like, more people should talk about that. And that's great. And they should. You know, if they enjoy something, they should speak more about it. But I'm not in the business of dictating to people what they should and shouldn't like them in the business of trying to provide.

what they should and shouldn't like. So I just don't really sit and like ruminate on those things. Because it can be maddening in a lot of senses too where, you know, it's like, it's like a exercise and self-edification. Like, oh, why didn't they like this? And some of my best are like, no, if they didn't like it, then, you know, like I said, I come from an entertainment background. If people aren't happy when they leave the show, I failed.

Are you able to at this point in your career look back and think about the legacy that you've left? I could. I don't. Well, that kind of leads back in that too. I mean, so many people get up their own ass about their legacy and their career and what they meant. It really pans out in the people that you influenced. So if 20 years from now, there are great wrestlers who found inspiration or they found what they wanted and what I did, then that to me is success. That's awesome. That's legacy.

And that's defined by other people, not me. And I think anytime you try to define your own legacy, you're already fucking it up. So I just, I do. You know, like, I'm going to leave that to the court of public opinion. If I'm a great wrestler, I'm a great wrestler. If I was an okay wrestler, I'm an okay wrestler. But it really, it lies in the hands of the fans. And I leave it in their hands because, honestly, that's the realest,

I think, verification of, you know, whatever you're looking to. give to the world, it'll come through that. It's been an amazing career. And I think that there was nobody doing what you did when you came in. And I think you've paved the way for a lot of athletic big guys because of what you did. I hope so. And I hope there's more people like that in the future that can continue to carry this on, continue the industry on.

And I'm happy if I did. But I'm definitely not going to try to sit here and tell the world about how special I am. I can do that for you. I guess. I appreciate it. Like, seriously, you were one of the people that, if you had never watched TNA before, you turn it on and you saw what you did. And you're like, how is that possible?

How is he able to fly like that? You know, a lot of practice and a lot of effort and a bunch of stupidity. And you too. But and also, like, with the intensity that you wrestled with and still do wrestle with. Well, because I think that's, once again, that's, they're owed that. You know, they're owed that intensity. They're owed a maximum effort in trying to suspend disbelief. And that's kind of always been my edict, you know, just make them believe for time that you're out there.

You know, usually that's a great enough fan experience that they have a good time. Well, thank you for this. This is a full circle going back to this photo from 17 years ago. A good old BSE. So I want to thank you for this. I want to wrap this up with a question. I ask everybody at the end because gratitude is such a big part of my life. I wake up every day, say out loud three things I'm grateful for to focus on the things I have in my life.

And my wife and I do it before we go to bed. What are three things in your life, Joe, that you're grateful for as we sit here right now? Oh, my family, first and foremost, just from my father to my mother, to my wife, to my kids. Just my reason for doing what I do. And more than that, just be incredibly supportive understanding and working with me and able to maintain a life despite the crazy heck schedule and all the demands. I'm thankful for my mentors in this business business, men who have greatly influenced me. No surprise men like Stephen Regal, you know, great advisors throughout my career, just people who have really. help me kind of carve away the extraneous bullshit and really focus on what's important.

And I think that's definitely helped in my career. And, you know, as far as people go, that I'm really, really thankful for. You know, I'm thankful for just the men that I've got to go on this journey with and women in wrestling. You know, like, it's often said, you know, you either make money or you make friends. You know, you can't do both in wrestling business as well. I'm here to tell you I've done both. made tons of money. I've had tons of friends, and I wouldn't trade the friends for the money because they've just, they've been such a big part of my life. Again, thank you so much.

Thanks, dude. You're a legend. Thanks, bro. All right. Thank you to Samoa Joe for joining us in the studio. And thank you for sticking with us and listening all the way until the end. Slap a coquita clutch on that follow button and also on the rating on Spotify. It'd be so great if you could support the show by doing that. What an incredible career. he's had. This year, this December will mark 26 years in the ring. He debuted in December of 1999, and it was just a pleasure to sit across from him for this conversation. And I feel like this has to be part one of many parts. There's so much to cover with his career and an hour-ish clearly didn't cover enough. Like there's so many other things that I want to dive into. I can't

wait for the next one with him. Hope you enjoyed this one. Snap a screenshot and let us know that you we're listening and tag us. He's at Samoa Joe. I'm at Chris Van Vleet. And here's a quote from C.S. Lewis to wrap this up. Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Be great. Be grateful. Have an amazing day. We'll see you on the next one for some more insight. We've got Ask CV number 77 tomorrow. Ask CVV number 77. We'll see you right back here for that one. Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had it all.

Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987, Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987.

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